Wrapping machine



.Nov. 9, 1937. r. e. JACKSON WRAPPING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 27, 1935 Inventor Nov. 9, 1937.

T. G. JACKSON WRAPPING MACHINE File p 27. 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 www- Nov. 9, 1937. 'r. e. JACKSON 2,098,245

WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Sept. 27, 1935 4 sheets sheet 3 Nov. 9, 1937. T, JACKSON 2,098,245

WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Sept. 2'7, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 9, 1937 umrsp STATES WRAPPING MACHINE Thomas Grayland sumo, mum-1i, London, England, uslgnor to'Molins Machine Company, Limited, London. England Application September. 2'1, 1935, Serial No. 42,521

In Great Britain October 19, 1934 The present invention is for improvements in or relating to wrapping machines for making about an article a wrapper formed from a substantially rectangular and readily foldable blank 5 having a length greater than the total peripheral length of the faces of the article to be wrapped. on the longitudinal section of the article, which blank when placed about the article to be wrapped extends continuously round the top, bottom and end faces of the article, the overlap of the wrapper ends being substantially at one end of the package at the top or bottom face thereof.

In United States Patent No. 1,291,984 there is shown such a wrapping, but in this prior patent 15 the wrapper ends overlap with the shorter a;-

tion on one face above the longer portion on that face.

It is found in practice that this ,wrapping' isobjectionable, in that it offers considerable am nity 20 in formingthe f lds of the wrapper about the article by machinery. I

According to one form tion there is provided a method or forming a wrapper-"of the type described in which the arti- 25 cle to be wrapped and a wrapper are brought into engagement with one another, forming the wrapper blank about the article so that at least one (top or-bottom) face and one adjacent end face of the article is engaged thereby, completing 30 the folding of the wrapper blank about the longitudinal section of the article in a manner such that against one face (that is, either the top or bottom face) of the article the end'portions of the wrapper blank overlap, said portions being 35 of different lengths, the shorterlength being covered or partly covered by the longer length and the latter being of a length such that it covers or nearly covers the said face of the article, and completing the folding of the wrapper blank by 40 forming the side folds of the wrapper. The longer length of the wrapper may extend beyond or be provided with an extension which extends beyond the said top or bottom face of the article. The wrapper blank may be formed intoa U 45 about one end face of the article, one limb of the u being longer than the other. and the end portion of the longer limb of the U being overlapped against one face (i. e. either the top, or bottom face) of the 'article'by the end portion of the 50 shorter limb, said shorter limb being of a length such that it covers or nearly covers the said face of the article. The longer limb may be over 'lappedby the shorter limb by holding or lifting the end portion of'the shorter limb clear of the '55 article whilst the end portion of the'longer limb of the present inve nis folded against the fate (i. e. either the top or bottom face) of the article, and by thereafter moving the end portion of the shorter limb into engagement with the folded end portion of the longer limb. Adhesive for securing the folds and overlapping portions of the wrapper blank may be applied to the wrapper blank before and/or during the folding of the blank about the article. The lifted end portion of the shorter limb of the U may be provided with adhesive on the side thereof which is to face the article before the end portion of the shorter limb is placed over the end portion of the longer limb,

Y The wrapper may be an outer transparent wrapper for a batch of articles, or for a blockshaped article, such for example as a packet of cigarettes, and the term fa'rticle where used herein and in the appended claims is intended to include any block-shaped article or a plurality of separate articles arranged in the shape of a block.

Further according to the present invention there is provided a machine for forming a wrapper of the type described comprising means to move an article into engagement with a wrapper blank, means to form the wrapper blank about the article so that at least one (i. e. top or bottom) face and one adjacent end face of the article is engaged thereby, means to complete the folding of the wrapper blank about the longitudinal section of the article so that against one face (i. e. either the top or bottom face) of the article the end portions of the wrapper blank overlap, said portions being of different lengths, the shorter length being covered or partly covered by the longer length, the latter being of a length such that it covers or nearly covers the .said face of the article and means to complete the folding of the wrapper blank by forming the sidefolds of the wrapper.

Means-may be provided to apply adhesive to the 40 wrapper blank along the transverse edge of the short limb and on the side thereof facing the article.

The invention will be more particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1' is a side elevation of a machine constructed inaccordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan of a part of the machine shown in' l lgure 1.

1 Figures 3 to 6 are views of a part of Figure l and show various elements in the positions which they occupy at different times during the operation of the machine.

. per

from which-theyare fcd downwardly on to the bedJof the machine. :When "the lowermost article in'th'c on the bed of the machine it is moved forwardly by a conveyor 4 shown in the drawing as a reciprocatingplunger. The article is moved by the conveyor 4 against a wrapper. blank which has been severed by a fixed dinal edges with lines of adhesive which may be continuous or vmay be interrupted at the parts i which lie la erally beyond the parts which are foldedover the-opposite ends of the article.

The adhesive-Isapplied to the web I as it is fed from the roll ll,v and the adhesive applying mechanism consists of an adhesive bath 4, a

roller Idlidliloller ll whichis-silpplied with adhesive roller 4. The roller ll applies the the wrapping material and a further-Iroller ll" supports the material whilst v the adhesivefis being applied thereto. A-scraper I! adhesive from the roller I."

The sheet of wrapping material is guided-into position relatively to the path of the advancing article by a movable guide ll of known construction'and a part of :thewrapper blank is arrangedtto-protrude through'a slot in the bed of the machine fso "that when thele'ading end face of tbearticle is moved the wrapper blank and the-article and wrap r black are I moved between the bed! 3 anda guide shown as a brush, the wrapperblank ldedinto a U about l f o. ,mi -llm the limb ll of the'U 'which'is against thejbott'om face'of articie, .the' "same length as' or-a proximately the same length as'or shorter than the length of the bottom face of the article, whflst the other limb uf engages with the top face of the article an The narrow endjtucks'll a't' tl'ie front 'eiidof the article are formed by fixed folders it (see Figure 2), whilst the wrapper blank-"1's formed into a U about the article. i

The conveyor 4 which pushes the articleind-e. wise into the wrapping material is provided with two'forwardly projecting prongs is, which 'en-I gage withthe bottom face of the article the prevent the end of the short limb of the wrapper from being pressed against that face, and alsocauses the end portion of the limb ii to be folded over a support 20 formed on the bed of the applies a line of adhesive transversely across the short limb on that side of the wrapper which is adjacent the article.

parts thro g out Refcrringto the the articles which are to be wrapped are contained in a stacker 2 means or a spring a,

when the folder 24 has completed its operation Whilst the adhesive applying roller 2i holds the wrapper-blank bent backwardly clear of the article in the manner Just described, an oscillating folder 24 moves downwardly and foldsthe long limb ll of the U againsttherearendfacecfthearticieaslho'wn inr'igurei. Thefolderfliaoperatcdbyacam II driven from the maindrive of the machine and is'mai'ntaincd in contact a further folder '24 engagesthe end of the long limb. II,: which end is extending below the botwith-thecambytom face of article (see-Figure 4) and folds this end of the limb against that face of the article as shown in Figure 5. The folder I4 is 'knife U and moving knife 4 from, a continuous web I, and fed into thepath of the article,

The wrapper blank is. before being severed by thecutters l and I, provided along its longitu e or above-dcscribed is then conveyed along the bed of the machine by the pusher piecesll..- i'lhe ment of the article along of the causes the shortlimbo'flthe vvrapper to lie the end of the long limb which has been f e against the bottom face of the article.

Thefolderll remains substantially in the,

position shown in 5 until the article and wrapper have been moved into the position shown-inFigured thereasonforthefoldu'll remaining in this position being to portion of the wrapper blank folded-by the folder ive-hm the bed theijarticle and partly folded the pusher of the machine aremovedbetween guides 82 and the narrow end tucks l1 engaged by projections I It (see Figure 2) which ensure the correct folding of the tucks II.

'A pair of folders 84 pivoted at II and operated by'a cam I. insynchronism with the pusher pieces 30, are arrangedto engage with the wrapper blank and forin" the narrow end tucks II at the rear endof the article. v The pusher piece II then moves the article and partly folded wrapper through stationary folders 38 and 89 of well known construction, the folders 34 and 3| completing the folding 'of the wrapper blank about the article-by forming the side folds -40'and 4i respectively about each side face of the article. The article is now completely wrapped as shown in Figure '7 but the wrapper shown in Figure 7 is shown in the reverse position from that in which it is formed in. order more clearly to show the manner in which the folds of the wrapper are arranged.

After the folding of the wrapper is completed the wrapped article is passed between heating elements 42 which dry the adhesive between the folds of the wrapper and the wrapped article is then inserted into a stacker 4! by aplunger 44 moving in a slide "and operated by a cam 44.

that all the folding and pressing upon the wrapper is done onthe side and top and bottom faces of the article, so that when the end faces of the articles are soft or hollow the ends of the wrapper are less likely to become deformed than is the case when the wrappers are formed by previously known methods.

It will be understood that the cutting mechanism could be arranged to sever blanks I" in the form shown in Figures 9, 10, 11 and 12, so that when the wrapper is passed through the mechanism according to the present invention, wrapped packages will be produced as shown in Figures 13, 14, 15 and 16, having projections which are arranged to extend beyond the edge of a face of the package to facilitate removal of the wrapping. If desired, tear starting slits may be provided in the exposed edge of the wrapper when tough material is used. Reinforcing tearing strips may also be provided extending lengthwise of the wrapping. These reinforcing strips, fed from a separate web feed by any suitable web feeding mechanism, may be secured to the inner face of the wrapper web before the latter is severed, or alternatively the reinforcing strip may be constituted by a box-pleat formed in any desired or known manner in the continuous web before the latter is severed, and the wrapping material may be provided with adhesive along those portions of the web which are folded together in order to provide a reinforcing strip.

When the wrapping material is made of a cellulose derivative, suitable solvent is used instead of the adhesive.

It is to be understood that the article may be a rectangular parallelepiped or a cube, and that the invention is not limited to use with articles which are of the shape illustrated in the drawings.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means to position a wrapper blank transversely of the path of an article, of a conveyor to move an article into engagement with the wrapper blank and to move the article and wrap .per blank to mechanism for folding the wrapper blank about the article, said mechanism including means to fold the wrapper blank about the longitudinal section of the article so that the end portions of the wrapper blank are of different lengths and overlap, the shorter length being under the longer length, said longer length being folded into engagement with the article before the shorter length, and means to lift the end portion of the longer length clear of the article whilst the shorterlength is being folded into position to be overlapped by the longer length.

2. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means to position a wrapper blank transversely of the path of an article, of a conveyor to move an article into engagement with the wrapper blank and to move the article and wrapper blank to mechanism for folding the wrapper blank about the article, said mechanism including means to fold the wrapper blank about the longitudinal section of the article so that the end portions of the wrapper blank are of different lengths and overlap, the shorter length being under the longer length, said longer length being folded into engagement with the article before the shorter length, and a projection movable in synchronism with the conveyor to lift the end portion of the longer length clear of the article whilst the shorter length is being folded into position to be overlapped by the longer length.

3. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means to position a wrapper blank transversely of the path of an article, of a conveyor to move an article into engagement with the wrapper blank and to move the article and wrapper blank to mechanism for. folding the wrapper blank about the article, said mechanism including means to fold the wrapper blank about the longitudinal section of the article so that the end portions of the wrapper blank are of different lengths and overlap, the shorter length being under the longer length, said longer length being folded into engagement with the article before the shorter length, means to lift the end portion of the longer length clear of the article whilst the shorter length is being folded into position to be engaged by the longer length, and an adhesive applying device and a support against which the lifted end portion is held whilst adhesive is applied to the lifted portion on that side'thereof which is to engage the shorter length.

4. In a wrapping machine the combination with means to position a wrapper blank transversely of the path of an article, of a conveyor to move an article into engagement with a wrap per blank and to move the article and wrapper blank to mechanism for folding the wrapper blank about the article, said mechanism including means to fold the wrapper blank into a U about one face of the article, one limb of the U being longer than the other limb. means to fold the end portion of the longer limb so that it is overlapped by the shorter limb, said shorter limb' being folded into engagement with the article before the end portion of the longer limb, and means to lift the end portion of the shorter limb clear of the article whilst the end portion of the longer limb is being folded into position to be overlapped by the longer limb.

5. In a wrapping machine the combination with means to position a wrapper blank transversely of the path of an article, of a conveyor to move an article into engagement with a wrapper blank and to move the article and wrapper blank to mechanism for folding the wrapper blank about the article, said mechanism including means to fold the wrapper blank into a U about one face of the article, one limb of the U being longer than the other limb, means to fold the end portion of the longer limb so that it is overlapped by the shorter limb, said shorter limb being folded into engagement with the article before the end portion of the longer limb, and a projection movable in synchronism with the conveyor to lift the end portion of the shorter limb clear of the article whilst the end portion of the longer limb is being folded into position to be overlapped by the longer limb.

6. In a wrapping machine the combination with means to position a wrapper blank transversely of the path of an article, of a conveyor to move an article into engagement with a wrapper blank and to move the article and wrapper blank to mechanism for folding the wrapper blank about the article, said mechanism including means to fold the wrapper blank into a U about one face of the article, one limb of the U being longer than the other limb, means to fold the end portion of the longer limb so that it is overlapped by the shorter limb, a projection movable in synchronism with the conveyor to lift the end portion of the shorter limb clear of the article whilst the end portion of the longer limb is being folded into position -to be overlapped by the longer limb, and an adhesive app y device and'a support against which the lifted end portion is held whilst adhesive is applied to the lifted portion on that side thereof which is to enga e the shorter length.

7. In a wrapping machine the combination with means to position a wrapper blank transversely of the ,path of an article, of a conveyor to move an article into engagement with a wrapper blank and to move the article and wrapper blank to mechanism for folding the wrapper blank about the article, said mechanism including means to fold the wrapper blank into a U about one face of the article, one limb of the U being longer than the other limb, means to fold the end portion of the longer limb so that it is overlapped by the shorter limb, said last named means comprising a folding element to fold the longer limb against that face of the article which is opposite the face about which the U is formed, a further folding element to fold the end portion of the longer limb against that face of the article with which the shorter limb engages, and means to lift the end portion of the shorter limb clear of the article whilst the end portion of the longer limb is being folded into position to be overlapped by the longer limb.'

8. In a wrapping machine the combination with means to position a wrapper blank transversely of the path of an article, of a conveyor to move an article into engagement with a wrapper blank and to move the article and wrapper blank to mechanism for folding the wrapper blank about the article, said mechanism including means to fold the wrapper blank into a U about one face of the article, one limb of the U being longer than the other limb, means to fold the end portioh of the longer limb so that it is overlapped by the shorter limb, said last named means comprising a folding element to fold the longer limb against thatface of the article which is opposite the face about which the U is formed, a further folding element to fold the end portion of the longer limb against that face of the article with which the shorter limb engages, a projection movable in synchronism with the conveyor to lift the end portion of the shorter limb clear of the article whilst the end portion of the longer limb is being folded into position to be overlapped by the longer limb, and an adhesive applying device and a support against which the lifted end portion is heldwhilst adhesive is applied to the lifted portion on that side thereof I which is to engage the shorter length.

- 9. In a wrapper machine, the combination with means to position a wrapper blank transversely of the path of an article, of a plunger to move an article into engagement with a wrapper blank and to move the article and wrapper blank to mechanism to partly fold the wrapper blank about the article, folding devices to complete the folding of the wrapper blank about the article, and

a -pusher piece carried by an endless conveyor to'engage the partly wrapped article and to move it to said folding devices, said mechanism for partly folding the wrapper blank about the 81", ticle including means to fold the wrapper blank into a-U about one face of the article, one limb of the U being longer than the other limb, means to fold the end portion of the longer limb so that it is overlapped by the shorter limb, said shorter limb being folded into engagement with thenticle before the end portion of the longer limb,

aooam andmeanstolifttheendportionoftheahorter limb clear of the article whilst the end portion of the longer limb is being folded into position to be overlapped by the longer limb.

10. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means to position a wrapper blank'transversely of the path of an article, of a plunger to move an article into engagement with a wrapper blank and to move the article'and wrapper blank to mechanism to partly fold the wrapper blank about the article, folding devices to complete the folding of the wrapper blank about the article, anda pusher piece carried by an endless conveyor to engage the partly wrapped article and to move i'tto said folding devices, said mechanism for partly folding the wrapper blank about the article including means to fold the wrapper blank into a U about one face of the article, one limb of the U being longer than the other limb, means to fold the end portion of the longer limb'so that it is overlapped by the shorter limb, said shorter limb being folded into engagement with the article before the end portion of the longer limb, and a projection movable, in synchronism with the plunger to lift the end portion of the shorter limb clear of the article whilst the end portion of the longer limb is being folded into position to be overlapped by the longer limb.

11. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means to position a wrapper blank transversely of the path of an article, of a plunger to move an article into engagement with a wrapper blank and to move the article and wrapper blank to mechanism to partly fold the wrapper blank about the article, folding devices to complete the folding of the wrapper blank about the article, and a pusher piece carried by an endless conveyor to engage the partly wrapped article, and to move it to said folding devices, said mechanism for partly folding the wrapper blank about the article including means to fold the wrapper blank into a U about one face of' the article, one limb of the U being longer than the other limb, means to fold the end portion of the longer limb so that it is overlapped by the shorter limb, a projection movable in synchronism with the plunger to lift the end portion of the shorter limb clear of the article whilst the end portion of the longer limb is being folded into position to be overlapped by thelonger limb, and an adhesive applying device and a support against which the lifted end portion is heldwhilst adhesive is applied to the lifted portion on that side thereof which is to engage the shorter length.

12. In a wrapping machine, the combination with means to position a wrapper blank transve'r'sely of the path of an article, of a plunger to move an article into engagement with a wrapper blank and to move the article and wrapper blank to mechanism to partly fold the wrapper blank about the article, folding devices to compiete the folding of the wrapper blank about the article, and a pusher piece carried by an endless conveyor to engage the partly wrapped article and to move it to said folding devices, said mechanism for partly folding the wrapper blank about the article including means to fold the wrapper blank into a U about one face of the article, one limb of the U being longer than the other limb, means to fold the end portion of the longer limb so that it is overlapped by the shorterlimb, said last named means comprising a folding element to fold the longer limb against that face of the article which is opposite theface about which the U is formed, a further folding element to fold the end portion of the longer limb against that face of the article with which the shorter limb engages, a projection movable in synchronism with the plunger to lift the end portion of the shorter limb clear of the article whilst the end portion of the longer limb is being folded into position to be overlapped by 'I'HOMAS GRAYLAN'D JACKSON. 

